Cooling Effectiveness of a Hybrid Microclimate Garment

Abstract

A prototype microclimate cooling garment that would allow the wearer to connect to either an air or a liquid cooling unit was tested and compared with existing air and liquid vests. Five male soldiers wore the three garments (hybrid, air, and liquid) on different days while walking on a treadmill in a climatically controlled environment. The chamber conditions were: dry bulb temperature, 38c (100F); relative humidity, 20%. The exercise generated a 332-W metabolic rate. The average metabolic rate (including rest periods) was 287 W. The hybrid garment, in either mode, performed as well as the individual air and liquid garments. Though the hybrid vest succeeded physiologically, comfort and fit problems were revealed that will require major changes in the next iteration.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1988
Accession Number
ADA201115

Entities

People

  • Barry S. Decristofano
  • Bruce S. Cadarette
  • Joseph S. Cohen
  • Karen L. Speckman

Organizations

  • United States Army Soldier Systems Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Cooled
  • Air Force
  • Army Personnel
  • Butyl Rubber
  • Classification
  • Controlled Environment
  • Cooling
  • Dew Point
  • Engineering
  • Environment
  • Flow Rate
  • Humidity
  • Iterations
  • Liquid Cooling
  • Prototypes
  • Research Facilities
  • Security

Readers

  • Electrical Engineering
  • Exercise and Sports Science.
  • Materials Science